Good tabby back home... cat stowed away on ship bound for the rigs

All at sea... Poppy is now back home from the oil rigs and reunited with owner Janet Holland

Frantic owner Janet Holland feared the worst when Poppy vanished one day and would not respond to her calls.

Then, after two weeks scouring the streets of Bradwell near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Janet got a call out of the blue to say Poppy had been sailing the high seas.

The wretched cat had made her way to Yarmouth and sneaked onto an offshore supply boat bound for the North Sea oil rigs.

The crew were 30 miles out to sea when Poppy appeared, but the crew kept her safe, warm and well-fed until they returned to shore.

Ahoy there! The ship's crew looked after Poppy and the RSPCA helped reunite her with Janet after her travels [ARCHANT]

Back on land, the crew asked RSPCA East Norfolk and scanned her for a microchip to discover she belonged to Janet.

"Poppy had never spent a night away from home so we thought the worst, said Janet.

"When they told me where she'd been, I thought I was dreaming.

"It goes to show how important getting them microchipped is. I cannot thank the RSPCA or the ship's crew enough.

Poppy is very pleased to be home from her travels and is back enjoying home comforts, including cuddling up with Janet's other cats, Shady and Rebel, and playing with her dog, a two-year-old Shih Tzu terrier cross called Gormless.